Flexible gun mount



July 13-, 11926.. LWAWO H. B. INGLIS FLEXIBLE GUN MOUNT Filed April 30, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 avwewtoz 1/ a. A fi WMWW LSQZAW) H. B. INGLIS FLEXIBLE GUN MOUNT Jul 13, 1926. I

Filed April 30, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 anueufoz 6. MW

wmwna July 113 9 11926.,

H. B. INGLIS FLEXIBLE GUN MOUNT Filed April so, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheefi 5 July 113 1W26,

H. B. INGLHS FLEXIBLE GUN MOUNT Filed April 30, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I M, H 0 U m a HENRY B. INGLIS, 0F DAYTON, OHIO.

rLnxnBLn' can mount.

Application filed April- 30, 1923. Serial No. 635,771.

This invention relates to flexible gun mounts and relates particularly to a mount of the cantileverv type.

The object of the invention is to produce a mount of the class above referred to by means of which the gun when supported out in the air stream is balanced against weight and wind ressure. The resultant forces of Weight and wind pressure vary according to the position of the'gun up, down, or sideways, but equilibrium is maintained by a novel balancing system for any position in which the gun may be shifted.

The cantilever mount is applicable to a fuselage that is too wide for the ordinary turret ring mount. In the model built and tested the cantilever arm radius is about 38 inches on which e gun may be swung to either side of a centered line. This enables the gun to'be fired straight down over either side of the fi selage, which, in the ma-- chine on which the'\test was made, was 5 feet wide. V

The cantilever mount herein shown and described is particularly designed to enable the gunner located in the cockpit ahead of the wings to fire above thewings and toward the rear or'to either side, but not primarily toward the front. Another advantage gained by swinging the gun ahead of its base of support is thatthe gunner is face to face with the gun when firing toward the rear or toward either side and no part of the mount obscures the cockpit space at his back.

With the above andother objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement herein shown, described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a fragment on the fuselage of airplane, showing also a portion of the upper wing and the proper mounting of the cantilever arm and gun in relation to the gunners cockpit.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same omitting the upper plane.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation'of the cantilever arm and base enlarged and partly broken away in section.

Fig. 4 is the plan View of the same.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the same with parts-broken away in section.

Fig. 6 is a detailed plan view of the release handle.

Fig. 7 is a side View of the am... i Fig. 8 is a view partly in elevation and fuselage, 11 the top plane or wing of the machine, and 12 one of the inter-plane struts. The gun represented at A is mounted in a socket a at the free end of the cantilever arm B supported on a base C, in. turn supported on the deck 13 of the fuselage.

Referringnow to Figs. 3, 4 and 5 for a more detailed construction of the gun mount, it will be seen that the cantilever arm is made up of two lower members 14 which converge from the base C toward the socket 15 in which the stem of the gun is mounted. The cantilever arm comprises a third member 16 which also converges from a higher point above the base toward the gun socket 15. Thus the cantilever arm side elevation and plan.

as a whole has a triangular aspect both The base C is mounted for movement about a verticalaxis on a deck plate 17 secured by fastening means 18 to the deck 19 of the fuselage, the mount being made more secure by the use of another plate 19, which lies against the bottom of the deck and is 'secured thereto by the same fastening means 18. To that end the base C has a'tubular stem 21 which extends downwardly through a bushing 22, passing through the deck and also through the plates 17 and 20.

Extending upwardly through the base 0 and fixedly secured thereto are upwardly converging'frame members 23 which are stayed by an angular or oblique bracing member 24 fastened to a lug or extension 25 on the'base C. The frame member 16 of the cantilever arm has one end mounted on a pivot'26 supported by the upper ends of theframe members 23 and 24 and in connection with the pivot 26, I use a friction joint as shown at the top of Fig. 5 to prevent the too free swinging movement of the frame member 16 about the pivot 26. The other members 14.

are connected by pivots'27 to extensions 28 I of the base C and other frictiondevices are used in connection with the pivots 17 as prises a handle 44 arranged on the lower side shown to prevent too free movement of the members 14 about their pivots 27.

The member 16 of the cantilever arm is of tubular construction and is also of te1escopic formation, the same comprising a relatively small tubular section 29 which is slidable within a larger tubular section 30. The section 29 is connected at one end by means of a pivot 31 to the arm members 14 and carries at its other end a piston-like head 32 which bears against one end of an expansion spring 33; the other end of the spring 33 bears against acap 34 threaded upon the adjacent end of the larger tubular section 30 and embodying graphite packing 35 which works in contact with the tubular section 29. The tubular section 30 forms a housing for another expansion spring 36 which is used for counterbalancing wind pressure on the gun, the spring 33 being employed to counterbalance the weight of the gun. The spring 36 bears at one end against an internal shoulder 37 Within the tubular section 30 and is adapted to bear at its other end against a floating disc or a piston 38. The disc 38 is adapted to be moved into engagement with the spring 36 by means of the piston 32 when the latter is moved toward the vertical axis of the gun mount.

-A flexible cable 39 is fastened at one end to the piston 32 and extends therefrom through the spring 36 and out through an opening in the end of the tubular section 30, then over a pulley 40 and downwardly under another pulley 41 under the deck 19 as shown in Fig. 5. From the pulley 41 the cable 39 extends laterally between a pair of pulleys 42 journaled upon a lever 43 which is fast on the lower end portion of the tubular stem 21 hereabove referred to, whereby the lever 43 turns with the base 0. The cable 39 then extends to a counterbalancing spring hereinafter referred to.

In connection with the mount I employ means for locking. the cantilever arm against swinging movement about its vertical axis. The mechanism for accomplishing this com of the cantilever arm and fastened to a tubular shaft 45 through which the pivot 31 above referred to passes. Two cables 46 are wrapped around and fastened to the shaft 45 and extend longitudinally throughthe tubular arm members 15 as shown in Fig. 4. At their other ends, the cables 46 are connected to the shorter arms 47 of bellcrank levers 48. The longer arms of said levers are connected to plunger pins 49 which pass angularly through the pivots 27 of the mem bers 14, said pivot being of tubular formation as shown in Fig. 5. Each of the plunger pins 49 at its other end is connected to the longer arm 50 of an 'other'bellcrank lever 51 mounted in one of the extensions 28 of the base, the shorter arm of the last named one hand and operate the lock releasing handle 44 with the other hand.

Connected to the lever 43 is another flexible cable 55 having incorporated therein a turnbuckle 56. The cables 39 and 55 extend away from the base of the mount and around guide pulleys 57 at one end of a tubular'casing 58. The casing 58 may be secured to the fuselage at any convenient point. One of the cables is connected to one end of a tube 59 movable lengthwise within the casing 58 and having an enlarged flange or collar 60 which bears against one end of a counterbalancing spring 61. The other end of said spring bears against one end of the casing 58. The other cable passes through the spring 61 and also through the tube 59 to the extreme end of the casing 58 where it has a collar 62 bearing against one end of another counterbalancing spring 63. The opposite end of the sprino- 63 bears against an internal shoulder within the casing 58.

In view of the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawings it will be seen that the construction provides for counterbalancing the gun against both weight and wind pressure. Spring 33 balances the weight of the gun. When the gun is swung upward on its horizontal axis, due to the fact that the gun isexposed to air stream; pressure is brought thereon by the wind to move said gun to a still greater angle. This wind pressure is balanced by spring 36. Likewise when the gun is swung about its vertical axis so as to project from either side .of the fuselage, the additional pressure of the wind against the gun tends to turn the same to a greater extent than is required. This lateral Wind pressure is balanced by the springs 61 and 63. In order to move the gun about its vertical axis to any desired lateral position, the handle 44 is turned to unlock base C, the gun swung as much as desired, and the handle released, whereupon the base will be automatically locked in the desired position.

I claim:f v 4 1. A cantilever mount'for aircraft guns comprising a base, and cantilever frame members converging from thebase toward the gnn position and arranged to give triangular side and plan aspects.

2. A cantilever mount for aircraft guns comprising a base, mounted for rotative ineaaoo movement about a vertical axis, and cantilever frame members converging from the base toward the gun position and arranged to give trian ular side and plan aspects.

3. In a flexible gun mount for use on an aircraft, a gun supporting cantilever armiof tripod formation.

4. In a flexible gun mount, a gun sup porting cantilever arm of tripod formation, one member of said arm being of telescopic formation.

5. In a flexible gun mount, a gun supporting cantilever arm of tripod formation, one member of said arm' being telescopic, and un weight counterbalancing means house in said arm member.

6. In a flexible gun mount, a gun supporting cantilever arm of tripod formation, one member of said arm being telescopic, and resilient means in said arm member to counterbalance wind pressure against said cantilever arm.

7. In a flexible gun mount, a gun support ing cantilever arm of pyramidal form, a supporting base for said arm mounted for movement about a vertical axis, and windage compensating means for resisting rotational movement of said base.

8. In a flexible gun mount, a gun supporting cantilever arm of pyramidal form, a supporting base for said arm mounted for movement about a vertical axis, windage compensating means for resisting up and down movement of said arm, and windage compensating means for resisting rotational movement of said base. i

9. In a flexible gun mount, a gun-supporting cantilever arm of pyramidal form, mounted for universal movement, and Windage compensating means for resisting swinging and rotational movements of the gun due to wind pressure thereon.

10. In a flexible gun mount, a gun-supporting cantilever arm of pyramidal form mounted for movement about horizontal and vertical axis, means for balancing said arm in any position for both weight and Wind pressure, and means for locking said arm in any position about its vertical axis.

11. In a flexible gun mount, a gun-supporting cantilever arm mounted for universal movement, means for balancing said arm in any position for both weight and wind pressure, means operating automatically to lock said arm in any position, and lock-releasing means including a release handle on said arm adjacent to the gun-supporting end thereof,

and means for locking said arm in any posi= tion thereof.

12. In a flexible gun mount, a gun-supporting cantilever arm mounted for movement about horizontal and vertical axis, means including resilient members for balancing said arm in any position for both weight and wind pressure, and means for locking said arm in any position about its vertical axis.

13. A gun mount for use on aircraft, comprising a base, means for rotatably mounting the entire base on the deck of the aircraft body to one side of the gunners cockpit, and gun supporting members comprising at leastthree arms secured to said base at difl'erent points and rotatable with the base, and convergin away from the base.

14. A gun mount or use on aircraft, comprising a base, means for rotatably mounting the entire base on the deck of the aircraft body to one side of the gunners cockpit, and gun supporting members carried by the base one of said members being telescopic.

15. A gun mount for use on aircraft, comprising a base, means for rotatably mounting the entire base on the deck of the aircraft body to one side of the gunners cockpit, gun supporting members carried by the base, one of said members being telescopic, and means associated with said telescopic member for balancing the weight of the gun.

16. A gun mount for use on aircraft, comprising a base, means for rotatably mounting the entire base on the deck of the aircraft body to one side of the gunners cockpit, gun

supporting members carried by the base, one

of said members being telescopic, and spring means inside said telescopic member for balancing the weight of the gun.

17. A gun mount for use on aircraft, comprising a base, means for rotatably mounting the entire base on the deck pf the aircraft body to one side of the gunners cockpit, gun supporting members carried by the base and rotatable therewith, one of the members being telescopic and having spring means inside for counterbalancing the weight of the gun, and means associated with the rotatable base for counteracting the wind pressure on the gun.

18. A gun mount for use on a rcraft, 1ncluding a base rotatably mounted on the aircraft and a gun supporting cantilever arm of tripod formation on said.base.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

HENRY B. INGLIS. 

